Slam Online

And to think, winning the Slam Dunk Contest is probably only the second-biggest highlight of Nate Robinson’s season. Clearly, the first is his burgeoning friendship with Will Ferrell. What do you think of these two giving dap during games? (Note that is not Ed.

CB4? That’s not a nickname—that’s a Chris Rock movie. RuPaul? You know we love Shaq, but come on, that was foul and uncalled for. No, Chris Bosh needs a real nickname.

Well, sort of: “Erik Spoelstra said after consulting with assistant coach Ron Rothstein and then meeting with Beasley before Saturday’s victory over the Washington Wizards, it was decided to maintain Beasley’s role as a sixth man…’The bench has been playing well, and we didn’t want to make two changes,’ Spoelstra said after Monday’s practice at AmericanAirlines Arena.

by Cub Buenning

Sometimes, you just gotta have faith: “The record isn’t close to anything Larry Bird and Jim O’Brien desired. The playoffs? They’re not going to happen for these Indiana Pacers. They may be mathematically alive — barely — but coach O’Brien has been conceding for weeks now that the playoffs are a pipe dream beyond rational consideration. And yet … It has been a good season. A productive season. A season of significant growth. Seriously. What?

With operating losses for the year at close to $30 million, it’s not a pretty picture: “In a sign that the recession has already eaten away at the bottom line in sports, revenue for the New Jersey Nets’ operating company dipped sharply in fiscal 2009, the last five months of which coincided with the economy’s contraction.

That’s the plan, anyway: “After today’s practice went well, Andrew Bynum said he plans to play Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies and April 14 against the Utah Jazz. Those are the Lakers’ final regular-season games.

by Marcel Mutoni

Naturally: “Everybody knows that President Obama is a hoops fan. He references Hedo Turkoglu and Mehmet Okur in his speech today to the Turkish Parliament. ‘The ties among our people have deepened as well, and more and more Americans of Turkish origin live and work and succeed within our borders,’ NBC First Read reports.

Tim sure thinks so: “With Alonzo Mourning’s Heat number retired, Tim Hardaway said, ‘I deserve to be up there’ too. Hardaway attributes his inability to get an NBA job to his 2007 ‘I don’t like gay people’ comment — despite his apologies. ‘I thought we were supposed to forgive and forget but it’s not happening.’”